Reflections on the Year 2024

To be honest, I suck at introductions, especially for these yearly wrap-up posts, because it’s the same thing over and over again. We’ve survived another year, yay! What’s next? I’m not going to lie and say that 2024 was easier than 2023. I mean, financial-wise, it was easier because I had my state job to keep me afloat. Mentally, things were different. Personal struggles and work struggles really took a toll on my mental health. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if Overkill became my top artist for Spotify Wrapped next year; if that makes sense?

Thankfully, there was good to balance out the bad. The year started off with a bang, thanks to Saxon releasing their 24th studio album titled, Hell, Fire and Damnation (2024); that was January 19. On February 9, my mom and I saw The Black Crowes live for the first time at the Pearl Theater, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. A month later, March 15, they released their ninth studio album of new material titled, Happiness Bastards (2024). Inside Out 2 (2024), which I think is even better than the first film, came out on June 14. Deep Purple released their 23rd studio album titled, =1 (2024), on July 20. 

A little over two months later, I returned to Las Vegas in October, where I saw six bands live! On October 4, my dad and I saw Steelheart in the Showroom, at the Golden Nugget hotel. I didn’t get good photos, but it was fun singing along to “Blood Pollution” at the top of my lungs! The next night, October 5, we saw Iron Maiden at the Michelob ULTRA Arena, at the Mandalay Bay; The Hu were the opening act. I almost didn’t purchase tickets for the show because they’re not one of my favorite bands, but I’m so glad I splurged and got to see Maiden live, knowing about Nicko McBrain’s retirement now. Five days later, on October 10, my mom and I saw Rival Sons live for the second time at the Brooklyn Bowl, at the LINQ Promenade. It was the Two-Headed Beast tour with Clutch and Black Stone Cherry, the latter being the opening act. Then, for a major full-circle experience, my mom and I saw The Black Crowes live for the second time at The Chelsea Theater, at The Cosmopolitan. So, not only did I get to see two bands live twice, but one of them was also within the same year, which is crazy!

Speaking of The Black Crowes, they went on tour in 2024 to promote their Happiness Bastards record and as weird as this may sound, it feels like I saw every single show. Everything from their April 2nd show in Nashville, Tennessee to their December 22nd show in Port Chester, New York. As mentioned in my concert review for their December 5th show in Las Vegas, I watched this tour like a hawk; checked out the setlists and made sure everything was running smoothly. I was even heartbroken when they had to cancel a couple of shows because of Hurricane Helene. Now that the tour is officially over, I feel relieved knowing that the band survived and succeeded at blessing us with some good old rock ‘n’ roll. I loved seeing the audience, the different venues they played at, the places they travelled to, and the unpredictable setlists they came up with. Every single member of that band grew musically and as individuals throughout the Happiness Bastards tour and it’s been a pleasure to witness spiritually, virtually, and physically.

As for my crazy music obsessions, I got into the blues rock band, Free, thanks to Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes. I have chills now just thinking about Paul Kossoff’s guitar solo for “Ride on a Pony.” Luckily, they only have six studio albums and I had one of them already, so my wallet didn’t suffer that much. Rush, on the other hand, have 19 studio albums; I bought 15 of them. I had no intention of getting into them upon purchasing Geddy Lee’s My Effin’ Life (2023) book this past June/July. Yes, the book was brilliant, but I think what sparked my curiosity for this band was Alex Lifeson’s “blah blah blah” speech at the 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I still have no idea how Lifeson got away with that, but I’m glad he did!

As for the negatives, work has been one big emotional roller coaster ride, but as a former co-worker once said, “all experience is good experience” and that could not be more true. I’ve learned a lot about how the world works and gained tougher skin in the process. On a more touchy subject, my family and I suffered a devastating loss this year. I’m still recovering, but thankfully, I’m in a better place now than I was four months prior. The music world also suffered massive blows with the deaths of Brit Turner from Blackberry Smoke, Dickey Betts from The Allman Brothers Band, Jack Russell from Great White, and Paul Di’Anno from Iron Maiden. The death that affected me the most this year, however, was the death of Liam Payne from One Direction.

It was Wednesday, October 16, 2024. I was having a good day because on my lunch break, I found out that the Iron Maiden tour shirts I ordered from the band’s website finally arrived at my house. I was in such a good mood that I thought, “wow, nothing can bring me down today!” That is until I got on the bus and read a message from one of my sisters saying Payne died that day in Buenos Aires, Argentina at age 31.

From middle school to freshman year of high school, I was a massive One Direction fan; they were my band! However, somewhere during my freshman year of high school, I decided it was uncool to like One Direction, so I pushed them aside for about four years and finally started listening to them again in 2018, just not as hardcore as before. One Direction, or should I say 1D, were my childhood band, so Payne’s death made no sense to me. He shouldn’t have died this year because he was so young. I wasn’t supposed to hear about his death until he was in his 80s, at least. 31 is too young for someone from my childhood to die. The worst part is knowing he lived a rough life in and out of 1D, but he definitely struggled after the band went on “hiatus” because his solo work wasn’t as successful as his work with 1D. There are some cruel paparazzi out there, and they took away Payne and all of the members’ innocence, which I will never forgive them for.

So yeah, 2024 was very hard. But, I’m thankful for it and the lessons I’ve learned throughout the year. Strangely enough, 2024 is going to be hard to beat because I saw The Black Crowes twice in the same year; who knows when that’s going to happen again! I also caught a drumstick from Black Stone Cherry and that was my first time seeing them live. Plus, Steve Jewell Jr., the bass player, looked directly at me when he tossed the drumstick. Those things don’t happen every day; Black Stone Cherry set the bar high for concert experiences! The only thing that could beat it is if I catch Rich’s guitar pick and he looks directly at me, in the process. Despite that, I’m looking forward to 2025. There aren’t any concerts I’m eager to attend currently, but July 17, 2025 will be Disneyland’s 70th anniversary and you can bet I’ll be there for the celebration! 

Another thing I hope to do in 2025 is get my passport so I can travel outside of the U.S. I don’t want to spend all my money on material things anymore. Instead, I want to visit places that I’ve always wanted to go. I want to visit Steve Clark’s grave in Sheffield, England; I want to check out Australia Zoo, I want to visit Tokyo, Disneyland; I want to take pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower, and I want to attend a concert that’s not in the U.S. because bands tend to play more deep cuts for people outside of the U.S. I’m not getting any younger, meaning I need to take more risks with my life and do the things I want to do before I die. I won’t be able to do all of these things in 2025, but getting a passport is definitely a start. Who knows, if I’m disciplined enough and save enough money, I’ll be able to pay Clark a visit sooner rather than later!

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Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana